My perspective is based on my forty + year association with Christian fundamentalism. The short answer is yes they do, at least I believe that is true for the vast majority of "believers". Marcus Borg deals with this issue in a couple of his books and I agree with his conclusion.
Bascially, all revealed religions are based more on indoctrination than education. Borg notes that naivete' plays a major role in the process too. The story of Christ is passed on, in large part, by trusted sources. These sources are so trustworthy that their creditability is seldom questioned. When peer pressure is added to the mix the indoctrination becomes almost impenetrable.
A strong catch 22 is added to the mix to insure obedience. Lack of faith is promoted as the unforgivable sin and true faith requires no evidence. Seeking evidence to substantiate the story is proof the believer lacks faith and lack of faith is a sin. That reality lead me to conclude that all revealed religions qualify in one way or another as a cult. Some are more problematic than others, but they all indoctrinate their members. They could not survive if they didn't.
Obedience to doctrine and tradition is of the upmost importance. The indoctrination process continues throughout the believers life. The two primary souces of indoctrination come from the pulpit and bible study. The doctrinal reinforcement continues throughout the believers life.
Those, like me, who eventually escape from the cult do so because they come to the realization, usually on their own, that the bible is filled with inconsistency endless contradictions and stuff that is simply impossible to believe. At some point that is often sufficient to motivate the "believer: to seek new sources of information. The new information is often able to overcome the years of indoctrination and free the believer. I found the data provided by secular religious historicans to be enormously valuable in my search for truth.
